Time to savour Fiorentina

From January 1, an EU ban that disallowed eating meat on the bone has been lifted. In Italy, the ban was never really respected. Obviously, the larger restaurants, and the ones under scrutiny from the powers that be, complied with the ban, which was imposed in 2001. The majority, though, still had "specials of the day" which, if you didn't look like an official bod, were offered quite freely, and they included these "banned" items.

The decision to lift the ban has been taken very seriously - there have been, quite literally, parties in the street to celebrate. One of the regions that has been celebrating the most is Tuscany, for it means the return there of the traditional practice of eating T-bone steak - the end part of the sirloin, which is attached to the fillet. It is called "bistecca alla Fiorentina".

There are many different opinions on the way to cook a Fiorentina, but the generally agreed one is that it should be at least 6cm thick, and cooked without pre-seasoning or oil, on the griddle with wood coal (the wood traditionally used is from the olive tree). The idea is that the meat should be cooked very quickly.

The real bistecca alla Fiorentina, eaten in Florence, comes from a breed of cattle called Chianina; it is represented in a lot of paintings of the Renaissance as a working animal. It is originally from the Val di Chiana, which is also well-known for its production of olive oil.

I am booking a flight to Florence, to go and enjoy a bistecca alla Fiorentina, cooked in the traditional way, with hopefully some cavolo nero on the side.

Buon appetito!

· Giorgio Locatelli is chef/proprietor of Locanda Locatelli, London W1.